Griffins captain Jamie Tardif seizes the 'c'

Grand Rapids Griffins coach Curt Fraser chose one-time Calgary Flames prospect Jamie Tardif as his team's captain before the start of the AHL season, and Tardif spoke to the Welland Tribune's John Vessoyan about the fact that he embraces the challenge of wearing a letter on his sweater...

November 3, Welland Tribune: "I have that trait in me, that quality, that leadership," Tardif told The Tribune. "No matter where I've been, I've always been looked up to. I love to be that leader -- lead guys by example, on and off the ice. It's something that over time I acquired. I've had a lot of
good captains in my day: Matt Ellis from Welland, last year playing
with guys like Aaron Downey, Darren McCarty, learning so much from
those guys."

And the surprise he felt when Fraser announced his choice as the Griffins' captain:

"He didn't give me any heads up at all, so it was a surprise to me as well. It's a good honour, that's for sure," he said. "It was definitely in the back of my head coming
into the season. If you look at our roster we have guys with a lot of
experience in this league and the NHL. I really didn't know what was
going on, I was hoping for it. It's good to get that recognition from the coaches."

With veteran hockey professionals such as Kris Newbury, Andy
Delmore and Michael Nylander on the roster, Tardif said there's plenty
of leadership on the team. And just because he's now the captain
doesn't mean others can't take a leadership roles as well.

"There's definitely a lot of respect there, it goes both ways.
I still look up to them, I respect them," said Tardif, in his fourth
year with the Detroit organization.